Mission To Creat
by Arisuke
Summary: Responding to the call of help, two clone pathfinder companies attached to a regiment were sent in to push out the Separatist army on the planet Creat.
1. Prologue

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Title: Mission to Creat.

Army Division:

9th and 10th Advance Pathfinder Company attached to the 99th Attack Regiment of the 9th Assault Corp of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Characters:

99th Attack Regiment:-

Clone Commander CT-2188/3311 "Webb"

Clone Captain CT-3770/4413 "Cross"

10th Advance Pathfinder Company:-

Clone Captain CT-7777/9099 "Moss"

Clone Lieutenant CT-8087/7549 "Book"

Clone Trooper CT-1135/4007 "O'Seven"

Clone Trooper CT-9144/8235 "Staff"

Clone Trooper CT-6229/6918 "Zapper" or "Zap"

Clone Trooper CT-4890/5731 "Smiley"

Clone Trooper CT-5337/6000 "Even"

Location:

In hyperspace, on the way to planet Creat of Mudor System, Mid Rim.

Fleet:

6 _**Venator**_-class Star Destroyers; Flagship: _**Blessed Angel**_

Mission:

Take over the planet Creat from the Separatist control.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: I don't own Star Wars and its related things, just this story.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 1

_**Blessed Angel**_, briefing room, 1800 hours, 57 minutes before reaching planet Creat.

"Good evening, pathfinders," greeted Commander Webb as he walked in.

"Good evening, sir," replied the members of the 9th & 10th Advance Pathfinder Companies simultaneously as they stood up.

"In less than an hour, we will be reaching Creat, a planet of Mudor System. As you all know, Mudor System is a neutral system. Almost a year into the war, they somehow managed to maintain their independence from the Republic and the CIS with the little resources they had."

Everyone was quiet in the room, waiting for the commander to continue.

"12 hours ago, CIS ships were sighted on Creat's orbit. About 10 hours ago, the Intelligence of the Mudor Government had reported that the CIS had established a base on the planet's surface. They had tried to repel the CIS, but were overwhelmed by CIS firepower and numbers."

"So they called us begging for help and protection in return for their support against the Separatist?" asked Captain Moss.

"Yeah, it was something like that."

"But why this planet? Why this system? It's not like the system is strategic or something for both sides."

"You shouldn't dwell into things beyond your scope of rank, captain."

"Yes, sir."

"Creat is 70% water with two large continents without any island supplements. The lands are not fertile enough for any agricultural purposes nor does it have any minerals. So the planet can be considered a barren planet and it does make our job much easier since there is virtually no sentient living on the planet. The terrain on both continents is mostly flat and because of that, buildings can be built almost anywhere," said Commander Webb as he put on a holoprojector and showed everyone the planet.

Commander Webb stopped to take his breath and continued. "The CIS base is located here in this continent," he said pointing towards a smaller continent, "and according to Mudor Intelligence, the base is right here." He then showed the base.

"My regiment, the 99th will attack the base as a diversion while a squad of the elite Republic Commandos will infiltrate the base and disable the droids in the control room. Before the Mudorian ships retreated 3 hours ago, their long range scanners had detected six droid platoons had been sent out, heading towards to these two sectors south of the base." He then showed the sectors and said, "Your job, pathfinders, is to locate the six platoons, destroy them, report in and assist the regiment. Questions?"

"Sir?"

"Yes, Captain Moss?"

"Any Separatist reinforcements coming in so far?"

"2 hours ago, a Munificent-class star frigate was sighted coming out of hyperspace. And that was

about it."

"Isn't it easier just to bombard the two sectors?"

"It is, but the Mudor Government doesn't want any destruction to happen to any of their planets, whether or not the particular planet is barren. And that is why your outfit was formed two months ago."  
"Are there any droid flyers on the surface?"

"Good question. Apparently the Mudor Intelligence had failed to find any of those flyers. However, we can still depend on our larties to cover our backs."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "All right, you know your role and get prep in 20 minutes."

* * *

Hangar Bay,_** Blessed Angel**_, 1840 hours

The 10th Advanced Pathfinder Company was waiting in their designated LAAT/i gunships, doing a last minute check on their dark green armour, weapons, supplies and the attack plan.

"Zapper, why do you still want to use that EMP Launcher? You do know that you can't shoot straight with it. With its slow rate of fire, it could get you killed on the battlefield. More or less, Merr-Sonn doesn't build the best weapons around," said Even.

"Do you know from where I was transferred from, Even?" Zap asked.

"No."

"I thought so. I forgive you, rookie, for your ignorance," said Zap.

"Zap here likes to be different. Instead of exchanging for something like a rotary blaster, he wants to be one of a kind. The weapon was the only reason he got his name," said Smiley, smiling too much which gave him his name.

Hearing the explanation, Even nodded in acknowledgement. "So, any theories on why the Separatist landed on that backwater planet?"

Another clone trooper replied, "Maybe they want to have a little chat with you, rookie." Everyone in that particular LAAT/i laughed.

"No seriously. Why? And only one more Munificent frigate to help three others to defend their base in a backwater planet? Something is not right here."

"You really are curious, aren't you, rookie?" asked another.

"Maybe that's why he was transferred to Captain Moss' company." There was another round of laughter.

"I could think of nothing, save one. Divide and conquer. A good tactic as any," theorized Zap.

"Maybe, but you're depressing me," said Smiley.

"But shouldn't General Hellon and her Padawan be here leading the attack?"

"They are busy negotiating for a collaboration between the Republic and Gilren Directorate, you know that," said Smiley.

"How does she know that our outfit would be useful for this mission beforehand?"

"I heard that she can partially foresee the future."

"Can the Jedi do that?"

"I don't know, but they surely are creepy."

"Shut it, boys. We'll be there in five minutes."

"Yes sirreee, sergeant," replied Smiley.

Everyone noticed that the LAAT/i gunships carrying the pathfinders had the engines turned on. Those who were new thought that this might be too soon, but for the veterans, it was a necessity as they need to be on the battlefield as soon as possible and clear a particular area of enemies for the bulk of the regiment.

There was a slight jerk in the Venator-class ship as it got out from hyperspace. Every pathfinder quickly held onto their own railings as each LAAT/i closed the hatches. As planned, three ships will move closer to the planet's orbit to deploy the ground forces while the other three will initiate a space battle to cover the deployment.

When **_Blessed Angel_** opened its large hangar doors, the gunships finally rolled out in waves.


	3. Chapter 2

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 2

For a LAAT/i gunship to take off from orbit and land onto the planet's surface actually takes at most 10 minutes. Throughout the similar missions in his short life, Commander Webb began to dread it. It always seemed to be the longest time in his life before he could do his part in a particular mission. Yet he got used to it, so did his men. Webb began to feel that he and Commander Strike of the pathfinder regiment would have a strong professional relationship during the course of the war. His chrono showed that time had passed the 10-minute mark. Now he had to wait for the pathfinders to do their job.

"Larty pilots, rev up the engines now," ordered Webb.

Webb looked around the hangar bay. He could see the members of his regiment were waiting inside their designated gunships, anxious to fight. As part of his plan, Webb had a few AT-HEs to be sent down together with the rest of the regiment. Because of the nature of the mission, he couldn't have the artillery. In his mind, Webb had decided to deploy the rest of the 99th Attack Regiment after the pathfinders had destroyed the fourth droid platoon.

He suddenly received the first report he wanted to hear from the pathfinders: a platoon of droids had been destroyed. When he heard the third report, Webb quickly hopped into his designated gunship, and as he received the fourth report, ordered for a full deployment.

* * *

Lieutenant Book always hated night missions. Even though he and his brothers had night training and experienced a few night missions, Book never seemed to get used to it. Infrared didn't seem to help either in calming his nerves. When he heard the second report from the 9th Advance Pathfinder Company, Book, knowing Commander Webb, knew that his company had 10 minutes to complete their part of the mission. He ordered his men to hasten in destroying the droid platoon. The 10th Advance Pathfinder Company finally destroyed the final droid platoon in less than six minutes, and Book was glad for it. All in all, 10 troopers were killed, with 28 wounded; 8 of them critical. The company was fortunate that all of their 10 AT-RTs were still intact.

Time seemed to be moving fast for everyone who do their job, but it was not so for those who were pumping adrenaline, especially the soldiers in battle. In missions, it was always an easy decision to leave behind the dead and critically wounded and pick them up later. But Captain Moss, the CO of the 10th Advance Pathfinder Company preferred not to leave anyone behind. Because of this philosophy, he got the respect of the men he lead and also frustrating anyone who wanted to finish the mission as soon as possible.

They had just finished reorganizing the company when the regiment arrived. Captain Moss quickly ordered for a gunship to collect the casualties while the remaining clone troopers quickly hopped into any LAAT/i that came into view. Book hopped into a gunship and disabled his infrared. All he could see was darkness engulfing everything, except for the 29 T-shaped visors. Reactivating the infrared, everything went back to normal. Before they actually reach the battlefield, they could already hear the sound of battle.

The battle was actually tougher than initially thought, but it was expected from the Mudorian Intelligence's incomplete information. Right now, Lieutenant Book hoped that the RC squad do their job fast.

* * *

Commander Webb felt relieved that the Kaminoans had replaced their Phase I armour to the newly improved Phase II some time ago. The upgrade of the armour and a few extra things being added did save his life and some of his brothers in a particular mission. His upgraded HUD was a small perk of life that he relished, but he wondered what Katarn armour felt like. He certainly would like to ask one of those guys after this mission.

The hatches of his gunship opened, proving that they were within the planet's atmosphere.

"Commandos, deploy now," ordered Webb as the gunships came within 10 kilometres of the base. With infrared activated, he can see a gunship taking a different route.

The battle commenced as all the gunships landed just six kilometres away from the base. The battle raged for nearly 20 minutes. AT-HEs were supporting in the middle column, the two pathfinder companies were reinforcing the right flank and with most of his regiment concentrating on the left and middle, he was satisfied.

Right now, he had to keep this up until the commandos did their job. The night and the pathfinders' dark green armour made the regiment's job easier. In a way, he liked night missions, even though the infrared did annoy him. He remembered reading through a manual about military tactics, stating that any army had higher chance of survival and success if they attack at night and wearing dark fatigues. Well, the few night missions that they had proved the theory was right.

Suddenly he received a call. It was the sergeant from the commando squad. Webb was expecting that they did it, but seeing that the droids were still working, he knew something was wrong.

"Commander, we have a problem. The defence all the way to the control room is heavily fortified. We were about to try the ventilating shaft when we were ambushed midway and under heavy fire. I'm sending you the floor plans just in case. We need more…"

"Man down, sergeant."

"Zann, take him away from the crossfire. I'll cover you. Heap, throw some... AARGH!"

"Sarge!!!" then there was static.

Webb realised that what he heard was something he had dreaded for a long time; the commando squad had failed.


	4. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I don't own Star Wars or its franchise; just this story.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 3

Orders were given to pull back from the main battlefield. It was fortunate that everyone studied the geography and the terrain by heart before coming to Creat. The enemy base was built in the dead enter of a flat terrain that span for more than 5 kilometres in radius.

About 7.5 kilometres southwest of the enemy base was a mountain range. With a cover of rocks and higher ground, it just might work for them. The AT-HEs were the ones that Webb was worried about.

_Can the armoured walkers move up the rocky higher ground? _Webb hoped the walkers do as he had heard two AT-TEs managed to climb up a cliff on planet Teth. With this withdrawal from the main battlefield, he hoped that the droids would actually follow. He also ordered for a gunship to wait at a designated area, together with a squad of six pathfinders.

Lieutenant Book was initially surprised when Commander Webb ordered him to bring along a squad of five pathfinders to a location. "O'Seven, Staff, Even, Zapper, Smiley, follow me!"

"Sir, yes, sir," all five of them answered simultaneously.

By the time all six of them reached the location, most of the regiment had already reached the mountain range.

"Sir, what are your orders?" asked Book.

"Get into the larty first," Webb replied. "The commando squad had failed in their mission. And I want to infiltrate the base to finish the job."

"And you want us to help you out?" asked Book.

"Yeah, that's about it," replied Webb.

"Why didn't you ask Captain Moss to help?"

"I did. He recommended you to me. He said that you're good in infiltrating. Your nicknames, gentlemen."

The five remaining troopers then told him their respective nicknames.

"Sir, having a well-trained RC squad to fail, the base must be well protected," said O'Seven.

"Not to mention the droids must have fortified it after the squad's infiltration," Staff added.

"We'll go through the ventilation shaft and work our way there," said Webb.

"Which ventilation shaft should we use, sir?" asked Book.

"There is a lone ventilation shaft at the north side of the building. That is the least protected entry for all of us. The commando squad managed to get the floor plans and sent it to me before they were killed. I had been studying it while waiting for you guys."

Everyone nodded their heads, knowing what they were supposed to do.

"By the way, with you leading us, who is in charge of the regiment?" asked Even.

"My adjutant, Captain Cross."

"Out of curiosity, why am I been chosen for this infiltration mission?" asked Zap.

"Your EMP Launcher. It is strong enough to disable any type of droids," said Webb.

"But there were few others."

"I know, but I saw you first," said Book.

The gunship took less than 7 minutes to arrive undetected at the northern side of the base. All seven of them quickly got out and sprinted to the only ventilation shaft at that part of the building. Just as the gunship was about to take off, it suddenly exploded.

"Better hurry, boys. They know we're here," Webb said.

"Poor Rusty. I kinda like that pilot," said Staff.

"Everybody like him, Staff. So did I," replied Smiley.

The ventilation shaft was not big at all, but enough for a man to crawl in all fours. The shaft was fortunately built close to the ground, so in a way they won't make any noise. Through the openings that they had passed, they can hear all the droid movements and communication with each other.

"This is our exit. It is the closest shaft to the control room."

Even though there were a lot of droids protecting the base, there wasn't much protection within the inner base. Well, Webb was actually quite grateful that the droids were created to fight, not to think. If the droids can do that, they could at least put a squad or 2 at every corner of the base all the way to the control room. That was what Webb would do.

"I'll take point. O'Seven, watch our backs," ordered Webb.

"Yes, sir."

As they move fast but carefully, they encountered two squads of B2 droids.

"2 squads of SBDs. Zapper, you ready?" Webb asked.

"Charged and ready, sir."

"Do it now."

Zap aimed his EMP Launcher at the droids and fired. The innards of the droids crackled and all seven clone troopers took cover behind the bulkheads as the droids' arms and legs flew past them.

"Does any of you still have droid popper?" Webb asked, as they past the fallen droids.

"I'm down to 2," said Staff, while the others had finished theirs.

Moving on, they encountered another 2 droid squads. This time was the weaker B1 droids, and was easily dispatched.

"The blast doors are locked, sir," said Staff.

"Hotwire it, Lieutenant Book. And do it fast," ordered Webb.

"Don't rush an artist, sir," Book replied.

"Staff, give me a popper. Zapper, is the launcher charged?"

"Half way there, sir."

"Take cover behind the bulkheads." Everyone, except Book took cover.

"Sir, I got it open," said Book. The blast doors opened and out came a barrage of laser blasts.

Webb took the EMP grenade, activated it and threw it into the room. There was a loud bang, followed by a crackled of droids. An assuring sound that it hit the droids where he wanted them. Now was a good time to end the battle.


	5. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I don't own Star Wars or its franchise: just this story.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 4

Lieutenant Book was glad that he actually met a Cuy'val Dar during his ten-year training in Kamino. Through him, Book had learned more and specific ways than just slicing into the computer. And Book wasn't even part of the commando programme that was meant for the Cuy'val Dar to train. Infiltrating a base wasn't something that he liked, but he felt that it was useful somehow. This kind of missions had proved that having the skills do have an advantage. However, Commander Webb seemed to be good at infiltrating too. Right now, he's trying to find the right controls to shut down the droids.

"Wheelers!!" Zap shouted, referring to 6 droidekas moving towards the room. Zap took out his handgun and fired.

"Shoot before they turn on their shields," commanded Webb. Six clone troopers quickly fired. Out of it, only Commander Webb and Smiley managed to destroy one each just as the droidekas transform.

"We're pinned down, lieutenant. You better hurry up," said Webb.

"Doing as fast as I can, sir," replied Book.

Zap suddenly fired his EMP Launcher at the remaining droidekas. Just a few seconds after disabling the droidekas, heavy footsteps were heard heading towards them.

"Remind me what type of droids that makes heavy footsteps," Even said.

"B2 droids. Commonly known as Super Battle Droids, SBDs for short," Staff replied.

"Are you there yet, Lt?" Smiley asked.

"Almost there," Book replied, grimly.

For some reason, Staff decided to use the last EMP grenade. However, just right after he threw it, he was shot. The grenade was shot by the droids and exploded without harming any of the droids.

"Man down!!" shouted O'Seven and all of them kept on shooting.

The remaining B2 droids suddenly stopped everything. As soon as the droids stopped firing, the five clone troopers quickly stopped, knowing that Lieutenant Book had managed to stop the signal. Still, everyone knew that the B2 droids had a certain degree of independence and it showed.

"Are you receiving any signal?" asked one droid to another.

"No. Are you?" replied the other.

"No. What should we do now?"

"Everyone on standby and wait for orders," said another.

Listening to them speaking can make a person laugh. Even was certainly going to if it wasn't for Staff.

"How is Staff, Smiley?" Webb asked.

"He's dead, sir," replied Smiley, sighing. Everybody went silent.

"Zapper, is your launcher fully charged?" asked Webb.

"Not yet, sir," Zap replied.

"Good timing, Lieutenant Book. Captain Cross, you there?"

"Still alive and kicking, sir."

"How goes the battle?"

"Easier now since most of them stop working a minute ago. Should we continue destroying them?"

"Only those who are still moving. How soon can the regiment be here at the base?"

"In 40 minutes, sir. Is that all sir?"

"That's all for now, captain. Webb out. Zapper, once your weapon is fully charged, clear the way of those B2s."

"Yes, sir," replied Zap. Seeing that his weapon had been charged, Zap quickly aimed at the B2 droids and fired.

"All right. I'm going to ask _**Blessed Angel**_ to contact Coruscant Command in sending in reinforcements. _**Blessed Angel**_, this is Commander Webb, do you read?"

"Commander Webb, this is _**Blessed Angel**_. We read you loud and clear. What is your mission status?"

"We had accomplished our mission in shutting down the base and neutralising most of the droids. My regiment and the pathfinder companies are clearing the area of droids that are still working. We need more reinforcements to occupy this planet."

"Understood, Commander Webb. Admiral Hunt is calling for reinforcements as we speak."

"How are your flyboys holding up?"

"Well, not much action as on the surface of the planet. But we did destroy two CIS capital ships. The other two managed to escape the battle. Our squadrons though, were not so lucky. Almost a third of our standing squadrons were killed."

"So, it's just a matter of time before the CIS counterattack. You better urge our reinforcement to hurry up."

"We know what we should do, commander."

Commander Webb then heard another same voice, but with more authoritative tone to it.

"Let me speak to Commander Webb."

"Yes, sir."

"Commander Webb?"

"Yes, Admiral Hunt."

"I already requested for reinforcements from Coruscant Command and they're sending in 2 regiments, under Jedi General Yuren Zara. He will be here within 2 hours."

"Copy that, Admiral Hunt. Thank you. Webb out."

"2 hours. Captain Cross will be here in 30 minutes. So I assume that we stick our guns in this room a while longer, sir?" asked Book.

"Yeah, that is what we should do now," replied Webb.

"While we are still here, we might as well do a rite that I had learned from a Mandalorian Cuy'val Dar," Book said.

"The Cuy'val Dar? Since when did you meet them?" Webb wondered.

"I always heard about the Null ARCs running around our training facilities back in Kamino. Most nights, I sneaked out without anyone noticing me just to meet them. I never met any one of them, but I did meet one of the Mandalorian Cuy'val Dar. He only taught me the basics of everything he knew. From there, he expected me to develop my own techniques. Beyond the training context, he taught me the Mandalorian culture."

"He trained you even though you are not part of the commando training programme?" asked Webb.

"Yeah. Until this day, I still don't know why he trained me all those things, but I'm glad for it."

"Well, leave me out this. I already did my way of remembering Staff," said Zap, as he got up and aimed his EMP Launcher at the passageway outside of the control room.

"Just what kind of rite is this, Lieutenant Book?" Webb asked.

"A farewell rite for all the soldiers that died." Book looked down at Staff. "_Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum_," said Book.

There was a minute of silence. "Staff." Book went over to the body, took the tally and kept it in his pouch.

"What do those words mean, Lt?" asked Even.

"I'm still alive, you're dead, I'll remember you, so you're eternal."

"What is Zapper's problem, lieutenant? He doesn't seem to be interested in doing this Mandalorian rite."

"Zapper is a volunteer from the 3rd Airborne of the 7th Sky Corp. He had lost some of his brothers to the other Mandalorians who served for the Separatist."

Webb nodded in acknowledgement. As planned, the remaining six holed up in the room and waited.


	6. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I don't own Star Wars or its franchise: just this story.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 5

Captain Cross was true to his word. He managed to get the regiment to the base within 40 minutes and garrisoned it. Captain Cross certainly knew how to do things. Webb was glad to have him as his adjutant. Too bad Cross was demoted to the rank of captain.

In all, the 99th Attack Regiment had lost only 231 troopers with 277 wounded. Out of the 18 AT-HEs that were deployed, 6 were destroyed and 4 were damaged. As for the pathfinder companies, 59 were killed, with 41 wounded. As for 20 AT-RTs that were deployed together, only 5 were destroyed.

General Hellon and her Padawan finally arrived, with their own accomplishment in securing Gilren Directorate's support for the Republic.

Reinforcements came in less than 2 hours. The two regiments and two extra _**Venator**_-class Star Destroyers under Jedi General Yuren Zara came just in time before CIS counterattacked. However, the CIS didn't seem to take it seriously as only 4 _**Munificent**_-class ships took part in counterattack.

There was not much of a fight at all. Under General Zara's superb command and amazing piloting skills, the CIS ships were driven back in less than 13 minutes with one ship destroyed. When Even heard about this, he began to wonder if Zap was right about dividing and conquer the GAR.

Together with General Zara's forces was a detachment of replacements for the 99th. It seemed that protecting the planet with both General Hellon's and Genearal Zara's forces was overkill since the CIS did not even try harder to defend or retake the planet. Still, both generals agreed to stay on the planet for a few days, just in case before leaving a sizeable garrison.

As for the pathfinder companies, they had left immediately after the arrival of their reinforcements to link up with their regiment for another mission. Lieutenant Book, with a mild obsession of becoming a Mandalorian, managed to find the dead RC squad and did the same rite to them, since almost all commandos were trained by Mandalorians.

* * *

Commander Webb was standing on a field, looking at his men redecorating the droid base into a Republic friendly base. He had Captain Cross to build a tracking station in one of those mountain ranges. The station would at least give the garrison to prepare for battle and alert the Republic.

Commander Webb was glad that the mission to make Creat a Republic controlled planet was a success.


End file.
